Description[]
The Mars Climate Orbiter was a robotic space probe built by Lockheed Martin that was launched by NASA on 11 December 1998 to study the climate of Mars and other related metrics. It was part of the Mars Surveyor '98 mission. However, due to a communication mismatch as both NASA and Lockheed Martin used two different measurement systems, the mission was ultimately declared a failure with the orbiter entering orbital insertion. The orbiter was either destroyed in the planet's atmosphere, or escaped the planet's vicinity and entered orbit around the sun; this mission proved to be one of NASA's costliest failures. Some two months later, the Mars Polar Lander, the other craft part of this mission, attempted to launch its Deep Space 2 probes and land on its own; both probes failed to reestablish communication after landing while the Lander was subsequently lost.
Versions[]
The Mars Climate Orbiter has come out in the following 1/64 scale versions:
| Year | Series | Color | Tampo | Base Color / Type | Window Color | Interior Color | Wheel Type | Toy # | Country | Notes / Variations | Photo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | JPL Returns to Mars Action Pack | Black | Blue solar panels, white details | Black / Plastic |
None | None | None | 21260 | China | 
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